Scam Mail in ‘SAB’s’ Name Resurfaces

'South African Breweries Ltd.' (SAB) said on October 10, 2006 that an e-mail scam is doing rounds offering SAB's beer for free to people. The scam, which surfaced some three months back, has been reported to the police.

The electronic mail promising free products from the company rolled widely in South Africa. SAB made two warnings against the scam, but it reappeared. 'South African Breweries Ltd.' feels the mail was developed to gather e-mail addresses.

The e-mail says if the reader forwarded it to ten others, he would get twelve SAB products. The mail additionally asks the reader to send a copy to a company unknown to SAB.

The e-mail carries a subject line: Free Imported Beer! It announces a deal, which no one can slip past. The writer says when he was out shopping; he stopped by SAB liquor and found a beer promotion campaign for Christmas. Anyone who fills the online form will receive two complimentary (Free!) cases of imported 'Caricacell' Italian beer. Seemingly, SAB will be distributing the beer in South Africa. The promotion will continue till December 15.

It finally adds that if the reader lived outside South Africa, he could gift it to a friend instead. The deal expires on 18th October 2006. So to take advantage of it, the time given was a week. People who have trusted this e-mail so far and clicked through or filled out the 'online form' to collect a coupon for free beer have surely felt its impact. SAB said the e-mail was like a chain letter making false promises about its products. It was just a trick for the scammers to gain new e-mail ids.

SAB made a statement in Johannesburg saying that it had reported the matter to the 'commercial fraud unit' of the 'South African Police Service' for the investigation.

The company pointed out through a warning that there was no free beer. Even if there were a technology to track such e-mails, a giveaway like this wouldn't be possible.